Suspected thief beaten to death by mob in Gujarat

A man was beaten to death by a mob in north Gujarat’s Banaskantha district after he allegedly broke into the house of a villager, police officials familiar with the matter said.

The incident occurred on Saturday night after the deceased allegedly sneaked into the house of Amrut Prajapati, a resident of Hamirgadh village.

“The Prajapati family said they woke up after the deceased entered their house around 10pm on Saturday. They tied him to a tree outside the house and called other villagers”, said a Danta police officer on the condition of anonymity.

After the man was tied, the villagers beat him up with sticks, police said.

“The (Prajapati) family members and some other people in the village tied him to a banyan tree and beat him with sticks,” news agency Press Trust of India (PTI) quoted sub-inspector BK Goswami as saying. He added that the man was already dead by the time police reached the spot.

Police have registered a first information report (FIR) against at least 40 people, including five members of the Prajapati family.

According to police officials, they were finding it difficult to ascertain the identity of the deceased man, who they said was in 50s, as they did not find any ID on him nor did anyone come forward to claim his body.

“Danta police inspector and investigating officer VK Goswami has become the complainant in the case after nobody came forward to identify him (the deceased)”, said another Danta police official, requesting anonymity.

(With PTI inputs)

First Published: Sep 23, 2018 23:06 IST